By Purushottam P. Khatri
Kathmandu, Sept. 10: A meeting of the Chief District Officers (CDOs) of the three districts of the Kathmandu Valley Wednesday decided to ease the prohibitory order issued three weeks ago in the valley to control the spread of the COVID-19.
The meeting, however, decided to give continuity to the ongoing lockdown until September 16.
The decision to adopt the measures to relax the lockdown came a few hours before the prohibitory order enforced three weeks ago was to expire.
The meeting decided to allow both the private and public vehicles to ply the roads on the basis of odd-even plate number from Thursday. However, no public vehicle having less than 16 seats are allowed to operate.
This means that the vehicles with even registration number shall be allowed to operate on the even date and those with odd registration numbers on odd date.  
The government has also allowed the taxis to ply carrying only two passengers and three in case if one of them is a minor aged below two years.
Similarly, the government has allowed to open shops, including cart shops, departmental shops, electronics and workshops of vehicles in a specific time.
The workshops are permitted to run from 8:00am to 8:00 pm every day. Likewise, the departmental stores, electronics and street shops are given to operate up to 11:00 am in the morning and from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm in the evening.

Similarly, the government has allowed operation of the shopping malls, clothing shops, fancy shops, shoes shops, and cosmetic shops only on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday a week.
Also, the DAOs meeting allowed opening of the home utility and kitchen wares shops on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday.
Likewise, furniture and automobile shops were allowed to open only on Monday and Wednesday, and cooperatives and microfinance offices from 11:00 to 3:00 pm.
The meeting also gave permission to deliver online and takeaway services from 12:00 noon to 7:00 pm every day and construction materials carrying vehicles and offices from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm every day.
The DAOS allowed to open grocery and food shops, meat, milk and dairy shops till 11:00 am in the morning and 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm in the evening.
However, the government has maintained restrictions in mass gathering, religious functions, visiting temples, seminars, conferences, swimming pools, beauty parlors, fitness centres, cinema halls, party venues, tuition centres, colleges and schools, zoos, libraries, museums, sports activities in group, transport of employees in industries, factories, and business complexes.
However, the government has given permission to run the industries, project offices and factories if they ensure to keep their employees in home or factory-based quarantines arranging safety protocols